Potentially Chelsea’s biggest addition of the upcoming summer transfer window has already been agreed by the club in advance.
The Blues are set to welcome Estevao Willian to the club when the current season ends, with him actually becoming a Chelsea player officially halfway through the Club World Cup.
Chelsea believe they have ‘hit the jackpot’ with signing Estevao. A whole host of footballing giants were desperate to get that deal over the line.
Estêvão Willian of Brazil controls the ball during the South American FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Brazil and Uruguay at Arena Fonte...
Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images
Fabrizio Romano has hinted the story around Chelsea signing Estevao is crazy, however he is going to be playing his football at Stamford Bridge next season.
Estevao Willian wants to be the number 41 for Chelsea
It would be normal for attacking players joining a club with a lot of excitement about them to request a high-profile shirt number, such as 10 or 11.
This would come at danger for the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke, who currently hold those numbers respectively.
It doesn’t seem as if the Blues are going to have that issue to deal with, and instead will have no issues offering Estevao his desired number.
He said to ESPN: “I don’t have a preference, but I really like 41. If they have 41, it will be cool too.”
MORE CHELSEA STORIES
Who has worn the number 41 shirt for Chelsea?
Only six names have ever worn the number 41 shirt as a Chelsea first team player, and they have hardly got an appearance to boast between them.
The most recent holder was Ola Aina back in the 2018/19 season, before he found a move away to establish himself as a Premier League footballer, now at Nottingham Forest.
The same can be said for Dominic Solanke at Tottenham, who wore the shirt two seasons earlier.
Charlie Colkett, Sam Hutchinson, Yves Makabu-Makalambay and Craig Rocastle are the only other players to don the number as a first team player, with Hutchinson making appearances in the title winning campaign of 2009/10.
Related Posts